Namibia Elects First Woman President

She studied in the USSR in the 1970s.

72-year-old Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwa, vice-chairwoman of the SWAPO (South West Africa’s Peoples Organization), which has ruled the country since independence in 1990, won the general elections in Namibia, which lasted from November 27 to 30. This is evidenced by data from the Namibian Central Election Commission. The turnout for the presidential election was 76.05%.

According to the Central Election Commission’s calculations, Nandi-Ndaitwa received 58.07% of the votes — 638,500 people voted for her. “The people of Namibia voted for peace and stability,” the politician said after the results were announced, as quoted by цитата по Reuters.

Nandi-Ndaitwa was an active member of SWAPO during the movement’s guerrilla war for independence against South Africa, worked at the organization’s headquarters in exile in neighboring Zambia, and studied in the USSR in the 1970s. Since 2012, she has served as Namibia’s Minister of International Relations and Cooperation, and was Deputy Prime Minister from 2015 to February 2024. Acting President Nangolo Mbumba, who led the country from February 2024, when President Hage Geingob died of cancer before the end of his second term, congratulated her on her victory. “The people of Namibia have spoken in their majority. They have written a new chapter in the history of our constitutional democracy by electing the first female President of the Republic of Namibia,” Mbumba said, calling Nandi-Ndaitwa’s victory “brilliant and historic” (quoted by The Namibian). — <…> I have no doubt that under her able and compassionate leadership, the future of the people of Namibia can only be brighter.”

Next in terms of the number of votes received is Nandi-Ndaitwah's main competitor, 67-year-old Panduleni Itula, a dentist and former member of SWAPO, who ran as an independent candidate in the 2019 elections and received 29% of the votes. He was then expelled from SWAPO and founded the Independent Patriots for Change (IPC) party. In this election, he received less than in 2019: 25.84%, or 284.1 thousand people, voted for him. A total of 15 candidates ran for the post of president — the 13 following the leaders received between 5.04 and 0.11% of the votes.

Along with the presidential elections, parliamentary elections were held in Namibia on November 27 — 104 members of the National Assembly (lower house of parliament) were elected; the turnout was 75.68%. 21 parties were running for seats in parliament.

According to the Central Election Commission, the ruling SWAPO retained its majority in parliament — it gained 53.38% (583.3 thousand votes). The Central Election Commission also listed Itula's IPC in the top 3 movements — this party has 20.21% (220.8 thousand votes) — and the Affirmative Repositioning (AR) party, a left-wing movement that broke away from SWAPO in 2014 — it has 6.61% (72.2 thousand votes).

Even before the CEC had counted 100% of the votes, Itula said his party would not recognize the election results, believing that they were flawed. “We cannot call these elections free, fair and legal by any means or measures,” the politician said, calling for a new election (quoted by New Era Live). “<…> We will inform the Namibian people of what actions we will take to ensure that the dignity of this nation and the integrity of our people are restored.”

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